Friday and Saturday will mark five years since the Nova Scotia Mass Shooting.
The gunman began his rampage on April 18th, 2020, in the community of Portapique, driving a replica RCMP car. He shot and killed twenty-two people, including a pregnant woman, before he was shot by police on April 19th.
The victims are:
Tom Bagley
Kristen Beaton and unborn child
Greg and Jamie Blair
Joy Bond and Peter Bond
Lillian Campbell
Corrie Ellison
Gina Goulet
Dawn and Frank Gulenchyn
Alanna Jenkins and Sean McLeod
Lisa McCully
Heather O’Brien
Jolene Oliver, Aaron Tuck and Emily Tuck
Const. Heidi Stevenson
E. Joanne Thomas and John Zahl
Joey Webber
It remains the deadliest mass shooting in Canadian history.
Premier Tim Houston said the province extends its deepest sympathy to people still impacted by the shooting.
“We turn our thoughts to those who continue to experience the impacts, both physically and psychologically and in the years that have passed,” Houston told reporters on Thursday.
Houston said we all have a role to play to keep communities safer across the province, and he appreciates the efforts of people who continue to advocate for those changes.
The province will continue to work with the feds and the RCMP, he said, to implement recommendations from the mass casualty commission report.
Houston said there is a lot of effort and focus on making those changes, and everyone would wish things could move faster, but there is still progress being made.
The progress monitoring committee, which tracks the implementation of those recommendations, said the shooting forever changed countless lives, according to a news release.
“The mass casualty created profound grief to those most impacted and five years later, we continue to experience its far-reaching effects,” the committee wrote.
The committee says they will take the time to mourn and reflect, then continue their work.
NDP Leader Claudia Chender echoed the importance of the mass casualty commission’s report and the lingering impacts of the tragedy.
“I just want to take a moment to remember the 22 lives lost, to reflect on the lives lost since then related to that tragedy, related to gender based violence, and related to violence more broadly,” Chender said.
She reiterated her party’s commitment to working on the commission’s recommendations, as well as working for stable funding for gender-based violence organizations.
The shooter’s wife, Lisa Banfield, was the first victim on April 18th. The shooter threw her in the replica police car before she managed to escape.
Houston adds, if you are struggling and need support, the provincial mental health crisis line is available 24/7 at 1-888-429-8167.
Friday and Saturday flags will be at half mast, and there will be a moment of silence at noon.
